Pope Francis, tackling conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine in his yearly address to diplomats, said that “indiscriminately striking” civilians is a war crime because it violates international humanitarian law, Reuters reports.

There is no conflict that does not end up in some way “indiscriminately striking” the civilian population, he said.

“The events in Ukraine and Gaza are clear proof of this. We must not forget that grave violations of international humanitarian law are war crimes and that it is not sufficient to point them out, but also necessary to prevent them.

“There is a need for greater effort on the part of the international community to defend and implement humanitarian law, which seems to be the only way to ensure the defence of human dignity in situations of warfare,” he said.